An American astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will spend a year together in space to advance the day when humans venture out into the solar system.

NASA, together with its international partners, announced on Friday that the standard six-month stays on board the International Space Station (ISS) will be extended to one year for two crew members beginning in spring 2015. The longer duration mission is aimed at gathering the scientific data needed to send humans to destinations father away from Earth, such as Mars.

"In order for us to eventually move beyond low Earth orbit, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long- term spaceflight," Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager, said in a statement. "The space station serves as a vital scientific resource for teaching us those lessons, and this yearlong expedition aboard the complex will help us move closer to those journeys."

Two veteran space station crew members, one from the United States and the other from Russia, will spend a year orbiting the Earth to improve our understanding about how to send astronauts out into the solar system.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will launch together on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the spring of 2015 and will land in Kazakhstan in spring 2016. The mission is the first yearlong expedition on the International Space Station (ISS), which usually rotates its crew members every six months.

The goal of the yearlong mission is to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to being exposed to the harsh environment of space.

Robert Pearlman

According to updates on Twitter, Scott Kelly began his training today (Feb. 6) for the yearlong mission launching in 2015.

This is my official Facebook page to follow along with me on this journey to the International Space Station (again).

I am honored to have been selected for another spaceflight and doubly honored to be selected for the yearlong expedition. I am looking forward to launching in March 2015 and spending a full year in orbit, to help scientists learn more about the long-term physical and psychological impacts of extended, confined flights in the weightless environment of space. My last spaceflight was a long-duration space mission. This mission will be the longer-duration space mission.

2015 seems far away, yet there is a lot of work to do to prepare for this mission. I plan to share my experiences from training on the ground and leaving the planet to flying out of this world and returning a year later.

Robert Pearlman

NASA release

NASA Selects 10 Proposals for Unprecedented Twin Astronaut Study

Only one set of twins has ever been into space, and now those twins are providing an unprecedented opportunity for scientists to understand better the effects of microgravity on the human body.

NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) will fund 10 short-term, first-of-its-kind investigations into the molecular, physiological and psychological effects of spaceflight in a continuous effort to reduce the health impacts of human space exploration. The National Space Biomedical Research Institute is partnering with HRP to provide genetic counseling and assisting in the management of the research.

This unique opportunity is made possible by NASA's decision to fly veteran astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station for one year, beginning March 2015, while his identical twin brother, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, remains on Earth.

This study will focus in part on the comparison of blood samples collected from Scott and Mark at regular intervals before, during and after the one-year mission. Physiological and psychological testing also will be conducted on the brothers before, during and after the mission.

Scientific and technical experts from academia and government reviewed 40 proposals submitted in response to the research announcement "Human Exploration Research Opportunities - Differential Effects on Homozygous Twin Astronauts Associated with Differences in Exposure to Spaceflight Factors." The 10 selected proposals, which are from 10 institutions in seven states, will receive a combined $1.5 million during a three-year period.

HRP regularly assesses crew health and performance during spaceflight to evaluate associated risks. From these assessments, HRP develops strategies to monitor and mitigate these risks. These studies often have the considerable added benefit of advancing health care for people on Earth.

For a complete list of the selected proposals, principal investigators and organizations, see here.

A veteran space station commander and half of history's first pair of twins to fly into orbit, Kelly will leave the planet in 2015 to become the first U.S. astronaut to spend a year in space.

"T-365: 1 year to 1 year (in space)," Kelly wrote on Twitter Friday (March 28). "Actually, there are 365.2422 days in a year, but who's counting? Me!"

Kelly, together with cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, are now entering their final 12 months training for the first yearlong mission on the International Space Station. The pair were selected for the extended long-duration stay in 2012.

Scott Kelly is 7 months and 17 days from becoming the first NASA astronaut to spend a year in space.

Well, maybe not a full year, at least based on the currently published schedules.

Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail "Misha" Kornienko are slated to launch to the International Space Station on March 28, 2015 for the first yearlong expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to return to Earth 346 days later – 19 days shy of an entire year – on March 7, 2016.

"I made a deal with the station program, they'll extend that to make it a whole year, but that doesn't show up on paper yet," Kelly told collectSPACE.com in a recent interview. "It better be [a full year], although I could be regretting that when March 7 rolls around and I think I could be home."

For Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko, the upcoming new year brings a special reason to be excited.

For unlike everyone else on this planet, Kelly, as a NASA astronaut, and Kornienko, a cosmonaut, will begin 2015 by launching on the first yearlong mission on the International Space Station.

"What makes this exciting, for me, this one-year flight is about the science and everything we're going to learn from expanding the envelope on the space station greater than we've currently done," Kelly said on Thursday (Dec. 18), speaking at a press conference previewing the yearlong mission at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. "We're going to go to Mars some day [and] the International Space Station is really a great platform to learn much more about having people live and work in space for longer durations."

"This one year flight is one of the many stepping stones towards leaving low Earth orbit," he said.

Robert Pearlman

Scott Kelly photo release

Got a reminder from the The White House of the President's call to action: "Good luck, Captain. Make sure to Instagram it! We're proud of you." — President Obama.

My first post from on orbit. Made it! Moving into crew quarters on the International Space Station. Thank you, Mr. President and to your wife, Mrs. Obama, for your continued support of this important #yearinspace‬mission that will expand our future in space exploration for all mankind. Happy to report for duty today.

See here for discussion of the space station's first yearlong mission.